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Your Union News
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November – December 2003
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AFGE Local 2578 News
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Vol. 2, No. 7 |
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Your Union News
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November – December 2003
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AFGE Local 2578 News
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Vol. 2, No. 7 |
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AFGE Fights
Back On December 10
On December 10, AFGE will spearhead the AFL-CIO's
To commemorate International Human Rights day, AFGE members, together with brothers and sisters from unions throughout the Washington, DC, area, will gather at Noon, Wednesday, December 10 in front of the Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Ave. NW, to stress the fact that Workers' Rights are Human Rights and to demand that our rights to free speech and collective bargaining be preserved and enforced.
AFGE demands:
Know Your Rights: Overtime Pay and Compensatory Time
When are employees entitled to overtime?
The
Agency must compensate both FLSA exempt and non-exempt employees for
"every minute of regular overtime work." 5 C.F.R. §
550.112(a)(1).
The
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) — 29 U.S.C. § 201 et seq. — requires that
employers compensate FLSA non-exempt employees for hours in a
workweek in excess of 40 hours at a rate not less than 1˝ times the employee's
regular rate. The FLSA is applicable to persons employed by the Federal
Government. An agency may not require a FLSA non-exempt employee to
"be compensated for overtime work... with an equivalent amount of
compensatory time off." Rather only at the FLSA non-exempt employee's
request, may the agency compensate a non-exempt employee for overtime work with
compensatory time off.
FLSA
exempt
employees whose rate of pay exceeds the minimum rate for a GS-10, the overtime
hourly rate is 1˝ times the hourly rate of basic pay at the minimum rate for
GS-10. The agency may require an employee whose rate of basic pay exceeds the
maximum rate for GS-10 to be compensated for irregular or occasional overtime
work with an equivalent amount of compensatory time off instead of payment.
Further,
a full-time employee is entitled to pay at a rate of basic pay plus premium pay
at a rate equal to 25 percent of basic pay for each hour of Sunday work. An
employee regularly scheduled to work between the hours of
Note
that under the National Agreement, Article 6, Section 6 (2002): "The
Agency agrees not to request employees in the bargaining unit to perform
uncompensated voluntary services."
A
violation of the aforementioned statutes and regulations may be grieved through
the negotiated grievance procedure as described in the National Agreement,
Article 23, Section 2(C)(2) (2002). An appropriate remedy for an alleged
violation of any of statutes and regulations identified above includes the
payment of back pay, interest, and reasonable
attorney
fees.
When
the renovation officials announced on the banner that all the drinking
fountains in AI on the north side of the building, where most employees are located, were going to be
turned off for at least 90 days, Union representatives on the health
and safety committee swung into action, demanding that the agency provide bottled water. Rick Blondo told us not to worry that there would be water on
the south side of two tiers. Not satisfied,
the
It took a while for Management to agree, and a while longer to actually implement the plan, but finally after about a month without water, coolers were installed in mid-October.
A small victory, but it
means a lot to us.
You're just not the type to
give a holiday gift that was made in a sweatshop. This year, you can shop with
your conscience at The Union Shop Online—the AFL-CIO's retail store featuring
top-quality, union-made-in-the-USA clothing and gifts. Go to the link below to
browse for everything from fleece jackets, books and music to the perfect red
wagon for the child in your life.
http://www.unionvoice.org/ct/_7zcwT91W1NL/
Buy Union Week is Nov. 29–Dec.
7. Mark it by shopping at The Union Shop Online and at the new online mall at http://www.nosweatshop.com/ , where you'll find
union-made apparel from Justice Clothing, No Sweat Apparel, SweatX,
Union Jean and Apparel, Union Threads, and Unionwear.
Go to:
http://www.nosweatshop.com/
CLOTHING: At The Union Shop Online you'll find dozens of gifts that carry your values of social and economic justice. Check out the cozy fleece, baseball jackets and knit watch caps-proudly made by UNITE members: http://www.unionvoice.org/ct/L7zcwT91W1Nq/
http://www.unionvoice.org/ct/LdzcwT91W1N1/
MUGS:
Need to stuff some stockings? People love sipping cider from our "Got a
Boss? Get a
http://www.unionvoice.org/ct/L1zcwT91W1MC/
VIDEO & MUSIC: Time off during the holidays? Pop in a video or DVD with a justice-for-workers theme—maybe "Newsies" or "The Full Monty"—or listen to a CD that has powerful message with the music—like "Drop the Debt":
http://www.unionvoice.org/ct/LpzcwT91W1Na/
BOOKS: And don't miss The Union Shop Online's books, from classics to contemporary hot sellers like Al Franken's "Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them" and Molly Ivins' "Bushwhacked": http://www.unionvoice.org/ct/SpzcwT91W1MV/
And if you're in
Local Meeting: Monthly meetings of AFGE Local 2578 are held at
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AFGE
Council 260, AFGE Local 2578 (301) 837-0901, afgecouncil260@yahoo.com Local 2578 Executive Board: Vernon Early, President;
Peter Jeffrey, Executive Vice President; Nkenge Sims, Treasurer; Ted Hull,
Secretary; John Powers, Chief Shop Steward Newsletter Editor: Katherine Coram |
Please feel
free to share Your Union News with
other Bargaining Unit employees … encourage them to join AFGE! See http://www.afgecouncil260.org/join.html
